Slovakia: Professional gamer ranked in Forbes “30 under 30” list of young talents 2019

Bratislava, Slovakia – Only one Slovak made the cut this year and was included in Forbes’ prestigious 30 under 30 Europe list, gathering annually 300 disruptors and high-achievers in ten different categories (Art & Culture, Finance, Media & Marketing, Science & Healthcare, Social Entrepreneurs, Sports & Games, Retail & Commerce, Manufacturing & Industry, Entertainment, Technology) under the age of 30.

Ladislav Kovacs, a 27 years old professional gamer from the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, is the only “30 under 30” nominee this year for the small Central European country.

Kovacs started playing under the name “GuardiaN” in the world-famous video game Counter-Strike. He “joined the team Faze Clan [a major American e-sports and entertainment organization] toward the end of 2017 and immediately made his presence felt with a first place finish at ESL One: New York 2017”.

Throughout 2018, Ladislav Kovacs won other major tournaments, including Intel Extreme Masters XIII, ESL One: Belo Horizonte 2018 and EPICENTER 2018, “cementing Kovacs as one of the best players ever”.

Credit: Forbes

Counter-Strike is one of the most popular multiplayer shooter video game to date. Created in 1999 as a modification of Half-Life, several new versions were released over the years, including Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Counter-Strike: Source in 2004, followed by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in 2012.

You can check out the whole list of this year’s European nominees on Forbes’ 30 under 30 web page. You can also find out more about the 2019 “30 under 30” nominees for the U.S. and Canada right here.